The New Guy: PBP’s Karl Fostvedt

Karl Fostvedt made time in his schedule to put down one of 2012’s most impressive ski movie performances in Poor Boyz Productions’ WE: A Collection of Individuals. Turning his expertise in park, urban, and big mountain environments into one seamless package, Fostvedt’s versatility put this rookie on the PBP pedestal, a spot he wants to stay for years to come.
How’d you hook up with PBP?
Pete Alport saw my ON3P Skis edit and invited me on a trip to shoot urban in Denver shortly after.

What was your favorite part of filming last year for WE?
It was all-time getting to shoot urban with a super motivated crew and the best winch in the industry.

Did you feel like the “new guy” with Poor Boyz this year?
For sure. I had to guinea pig just about every feature that I hit in my segment. I feel like I’ve paid my dues, but I’ve got a funny feeling that my days of guinea pigging are far from over. Check out Bobby’s Life Episode 15 for my guinea pig shot from the Schweitzer park shoot booter (@4:13).

You ski everything, but if you had to choose between an inner city down-flat-down, a perfectly sculpted 50-footer in the park, or a burly backcountry spine, which are you hitting?
Burly backcountry spine. Nothing beats real skiing.
What was it like having T-Hall cheering you on during that redirect shoot?
Tanner radiates inspiration like no one else on the planet. He helped me get my head in the right place to prosper on a feature that I came very close to backing down from.

Karl Fostvedt. PHOTO: TIM SORENSON

How did the theme of WE apply to your skiing and filming last season?
PBP brought me on board with incredible enthusiasm. I did my best to return the enthusiasm and help with every shoot regardless of whether I was getting shots or not. In the end, it’s a great feeling to watch someone like Leigh’s segment and know that I helped him make that happen. From pulling bungee, to running winch, to building jumps and landings, we all help each other materialize a vision for a feature.

If you had to do something different for this season, what would you change?
It would be nice if Idaho and Utah got a little more snow this season…

We get that you’ve got the skiing thing on lock, what’s something you’d like to be good at, but just suck at?
I wish I was a hell of a lot better at surfing, and I’d also like to get into windsurfing someday. [PBP’s] Johnny Decesare has produced two insanely sick windsurfing movies.

You’ve got the Krazy Karl nickname going for you, you think it’s going to stick or do you think its time for a nickname evolution?
I really enjoy entertaining people by doing crazy shit on my skis. I think my craziest feats are yet to be accomplished, so I don’t see the nickname going anywhere anytime soon.